Giro starts today. Stage 1 is a Team Time Trial. Great preview by inrng here. inrng's favorites: Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) Rigoberto Uran(Quick Step), Richie Porte (Sky), Fabio Aru (Astana) Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R) Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff) Inxausti (Movistar), Izaguirre (Movistar), Van Den Broeck (Lotto), Zakarin (Katusha) Don't know why Hesjedal isn't on the list. He should be.
this bike lane (more like a bike superhighway) around San Remo they're running this team time trial on is absolutely fantastic.
He's got this. Especially after the great ride they put in today. If Porte beats him, I'm giving up the sport.
Queen Stage of the Tour of California on right meow. ~30 km remaining. free stream here... http://tourtracker.amgentourofcalifornia.com/
That was insane. Can't believe how well Sagan climbed Mt. Baldy. He lost the leaders jersey but can win the race overall with the bonus sprints or a win tomorrow on the last stage.
just upgraded my dtv package so I can start watching more cycling. butt firmly planted in front of the Giro d'Italia right now.
imo, the Giro is always better than the TdF. * the course is always harder. bigger mountains. steeper mountains. mountain time trials. insanely long stages. etc.. * it doesn't attract all the big names, therefore, the race is usually totally unpredictable. * its the first Grand Tour of the year so everyone is out to prove something. * the tifosi are insane. i don't trust Astana. they are riding this Giro like US Postal used to. I can't believe how strong they are. Every stage they have 5-6 riders up front and Contador is isolated. Maybe Contador's guys are saving up for the last week? I mean, Michael Rodgers, Paulhino, Basso, Juul-Jensen, Kreuziger are all diesels and should be up there with Alberto. Only two things have excited me about the Giro this year. Sky blowing up, and Davide Formolo's win. This last week is going to be a monster though!
yep. here's two that I use regularly: Steephill.tv tips: 1. use google chrome and adblocker to prevent pop-ups. 2. RAI sport has awesome hd coverage in Italian. Use the Hola extension for google chrome to set Italy as your country and you'll get an HD stream for free. Its usually the first broadcaster to start streaming too. Sometimes hours before other stations. Also, they have a set of cameras that show you different viewpoints of the race. They have two helicopter cams that you can watch, they have two motorcycle cams that you can watch and they have the regular cam that zooms back and forth. The others stay fixed. 3. Eurosport links, definitely use chrome with adblock. In english and commentators are 100 times better than the ones we get in the USA. Cyclingfans scroll down for links each day. list is updated a lot. check back for better streams. ** one key thing to note. for each Giro stage, the race starts at different times. also, live coverage starts at different times based on the type of stage. Steephill does a good job of letting you know the start time for each stage.
USA cycling championships are going on right now in Chattanooga, TN. Yesterday was the men's elite Time Trial. Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Garmin) won. He will be riding the TdF this year, so we will see the stars and stripes jersey during the tour for the first time in a few years. Tomorrow is the elite men's road race. Last years race was awesome. i expect it to be great again this year. There is usually a free HD stream. I'll try to track it down...
worked like a dog today. didn't even get a chance to follow on twitter. i'll try to grab an hd torrance of it. been meaning to ask you.... what's bjarne up to these days? think he'll get back into cycling somehow?
yea i def think he will, but the guy is loaded so i'm sure he wont get in to just about anything. He might be awaiting the danish anti doping agentcy's report though. but its been under way for so long that im starting to doubt anything will ever show up. To be fair i'm just guessing these days. it was easier when i was hooking up with his Au Pair girl.
anyone who thinks Astana is clean is kidding themselves. Jesus. You'd think a team under close surveillance because of 5 doping positives last year would cool things down a bit. Its just a matter of time before they're popped again.
today's stage is the last mountain stage. should be chaos with everybody trying to get that last prestigious win. The race goes over the Colle Delle Finistere today which is the highest elevation in the race. This is what it looks like.
Yep they are out in full force today. Nibali almost took my arm off last year at the Tour and i wasnt even being an idiot. just tells you how much you have to be on your toes as a fan.
what in the world are Astana doing? their tactics in the giro have been horrible! they've destroyed everyone, every day. yet everytime they've had the chance to attack Contador they havent done dick. I root for Contador so i dont mind but holy hell.
honestly, I think Aru is going to leave Astana soon. That is the only way you can explain his tactics. Why would he chase down his teammate time and time again. Landa has been superb. Watch for Aru to end up at Tinkoff. Next year is Alberto's last, so they'll have to start planning for the future soon. What a few stages by Hesjedal. He muscled his way to a top 5 on the GC. Love that guy.
hahaha. thats probably a 10k bottle of champagne. i'm really curious to see what this team looks like next year. you think he'll shred the team and start again?
I have no clue. if he does i probably wont root for them. only reason i do now is because its the same riders pretty much.
Saxo is leaving as co-sponsor, right? I thought I heard that somewhere. There's been speculation that the Danish-ness of the team will be let go (b/c that Riis' touch on the squad). Maybe its time to start rooting for Team Cult Energy? Its just a matter of time before they're super competitive. Especially if Saxo links up with them.
yea i bet they leave the owner of saxo bank is friends with Riis. I'll probably just root for a rider or something until Cult gets a budget that can compete. They are a pretty succesful danish energy drink company, but they wont be able to put enough money in the team. So hopefully they can get another sponsor.
Dauphine starts tomorrow with a lot of big names slotted to ride. It's the first TdF prep race of the year... Contenders: Talansky - defending champ. Upset Contador and Froome last year with a long range surprise attack. Dan Martin - Cannondale Garmin Nibali Froome Valverde - Movistar J.Rodriguez - katusha Tejay - where the fuck has he been all year? Bauke Mollema - trek romain Bardet - ag2r Wilco Kelderman - lotto jumbo
Also tomorrow: * Bradley Wiggins goes for the hour record... most expect him to smash it. * Philly Road race - one of the best one-day races in the US. Climbing the Manayunk Wall is no joke.
Live coverage of the Queen Stage of the Dauphine is on NBC Sports Live Extra right now. Last 10 km is a brutal climb.